Latest news with #UNConventionontheRightsofPersonswithDisabilities
Irish Examiner
17-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Disability groups challenge Government to 'show me the money' in budget
Will this year's budget translate general election promises on disability services into cold hard cash? Disability groups have essentially said 'show me the money' to Government in a series of pre-budget submissions this week. Inclusion Ireland represents people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Its data shows social welfare supports do not match the needs of 66% of adults with an intellectual disability, so it wants core disability payments raised above the poverty threshold. One in four families said their child received no early intervention therapies. This needs investment in children's disability network teams (CDNTs), the submission recommended. CEO Derval McDonagh said: 'Our community is not looking for short-term fixes; we demand long-term thinking and ambition from our leaders.' Its survey of 1,000 people identified 'significant gaps' between people's lived experiences and what the State is obliged to provide under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Disability Federation of Ireland referred back to the programme for government promise of 'a step change in the supports and services required by people with disabilities". The federation's campaign call is 'deliver the step change'. It also argued for an increase in core social protection rates to reflect the true cost of living with a disability. The Disability Federation of Ireland said councils should be funded to make sure 7.5% of all new housing is suitable for wheelchair users. The CDNTs need at least 75 extra full-time therapists and staff, it said. It also called for more assessment of need funding. Councils should be funded to make sure 7.5% of all new housing is suitable for wheelchair users. The federation pointed out the voluntary charity sector delivers over 70% of disability services here. This needs sustainable, multi-annual funding it said. As I Am, Ireland's autism charity, focused on strategies and policies already in existence but in need of funding to roll-out fully. It called for resourcing of the Autism Innovation Strategy. It echoed calls for a weekly cost of disability payment, and also recommended a 10% increase in disability, carers, and domiciliary care allowances. CEO Adam Harris, brother to Tánaiste Simon Harris, said: 'Budget 2026 must confront the uncomfortable reality that our systems are failing autistic people, from year-long waits for services to social exclusion and financial strain." Norma Foley, minister for children, disability and equality and Hildegarde Naughton, junior minister for disability will soon be sitting in on heated budget discussions. They now have a shopping list prepared by people directly impacted by the reality of disability. Can they deliver the money is the question. Read More Letters to the Editor: System fails people with disabilities
Irish Independent
21-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Assessment of Need waiting list backlog ‘completely unacceptable', autism charity chief says
Adam Harris criticised the fact that only 7pc of referrals have been seen within the legal time limit of six months. 'The reality is that it's taking far too long,' he said. 'The Government is talking about waiting lists for an AON as if it's a charity act or a nice thing to do. There are clear domestic obligations in place that are being breached here. 'Ireland was also the last country in the EU to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the UNCRPD, which moves us away from the charity model. So it is also breaching that commitment.' Currently, there are over 15,000 children waiting for an AON, which is used to identify if a child has a disability and what services they need to access. The HSE expects the numbers on the waiting list to soar to nearly 25,000 by the end of the year as it grapples with chronic staff shortages in the disability sector. Mr Harris cited an 'urgent need' to get on top of the backlog, given the lack of key services for children with additional needs. The majority of parents have to fork out up to €1,000 to pay for a private assessment for their child, given the lengthy wait times. It needs to be done right across the education system He said Ireland has the right strategy and legislation, but is falling down in the area of implementation and investment. With regards to a mooted plan to move services like speech and language therapy (SLT) into the classroom setting, Mr Harris said he is 'very supportive' of that. ADVERTISEMENT 'Now that there has been a commitment to roll out a model in that regard, there is a real importance in how we do that. There is a clear benefit in not having to remove a child from a classroom and not being in a sterile setting,' he said. 'But where therapeutic supports are being delivered, it needs to be done right across the education system. 'So I don't just mean in special schools, but also mainstream schools or wherever is the most appropriate place for autistic kids to access them. We need to see a clear rollout on how that would happen and it should be done in a holistic sense.' Mr Harris was speaking as AsIAm and PTSB joined forces to launch the 2025 Autism Friendly Towns initiative. An idea first championed in Clonakilty in 2018, it has since been rolled out to 40 communities around Ireland with hopes of dozens more signing up to the initiative. 'Our ambition is that every community in Ireland would be an autism-friendly town,' Mr Harris said.
Irish Independent
11-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Teens aged 16 and 17 in mental distress will have to attend an adult A&E instead of new children's hospital, committee hears
Dublin psychiatrist Prof Matthew Sadlier highlighted mental health law which defines a child as someone under eighteen. However, the cut-off point for children's hospitals is 16, which means those aged 16 and 17, who are in mental suffering, must go to an adult accident and emergency department where there is no child and adolescent mental health service, he added. 'If they need medical intervention they must go to an adult emergency department,' he added, calling for change. 'We are about to open a new national children's hospital and it is time for the ages to be aligned,' he said. He was speaking as the committee heard from psychiatrists, Mental Health Reform and the Mental Health Commission to give their views on the new Mental Health Bill 2024 which is aiming to update the law around the care and treatment of patients. Philip Watt, interim chief executive of Mental Health Reform and Stephen Sheil, interim communications and engagement manager said it saw the Bill as a "significant opportunity, a once-in-a-generation chance to modernise our mental health legislation and bring it into line with human rights standards, including Ireland's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities." However, they said that it needs to be strengthened in different areas and "we are concerned that the Bill does not yet prohibit the admission of children to adult psychiatric units, which has been widely acknowledged as inappropriate and harmful'. "We recommend that the legislation include a clear statutory prohibition, which would reinforce the obligation to invest in appropriate child and adolescent services." Five children were admitted to adult psychiatric hospitals last year. Prof Sadlier said he was aware of a case where a teenager has to stay in an adult emergency department for a week . He is not in favour of a total ban on admitting children to adult psychiatric units. ADVERTISEMENT A number of amendments have been put forward to the proposed legislation. Asked by Labour party spokeswoman on health deputy Marie Sherlock what the view of psychiatrists is to the amendments around the care of involuntary patients psychiatrist Prof Brendan Kelly said they led to some improvements. However, he still had concerns about the criteria for involuntary admission which states that admission is 'immediately necessary for the protection of life of the person or that of another person or necessary for protection from an immediate and serious threat to the health of the person or that of other persons'. The use of risk as an admission criteria asks mental health care professionals to do something that lacks a firm evidence-base, and this risk criteria should be removed, he added. Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman told the committee of a pilot Community Access Support Team (CAST) project in Limerick. "This initiative is currently being trialled in partnership with the HSE in the Limerick Garda Division. The pilot started in January 2025 under 'A Policing Service for the Future' and is aimed at assisting people who are experiencing situational trauma or a mental health crisis." Its central goal is to reduce future presentations and interactions with Gardaí or other blue light emergency services, through community follow-ups and the case management of complex cases, she said. CAST has yet to be evaluated not only in terms of impact on individuals, but also on the amount of Garda time is being devoted to an area that is not a core function. "However, it is important to note that since its introduction, CAST has created greater integration among statutory and voluntary agencies operating in the Limerick Garda Division. It is grounded in international evidence."
Irish Examiner
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Grace is not a victim of unfortunate oversight, but a citizen whose rights were repeatedly violated
Living as a disabled woman in Ireland means being underestimated, having your capacity constantly questioned regardless of your impairment, being infantilised, silenced, excluded, and rendered a nuisance. As women, we are marked by difference. Cultural and institutional memory often omits us, except for moments of public shame; even then, we are not centred — merely exposed. The story of Grace, a non-speaking, intellectually disabled woman left in an abusive 'foster' home for decades, is not just one of personal harm. Like many wrongdoings in Ireland, it is cloaked in euphemism, delayed accountability, and procedural malpractice. As a nation, we are culpable of collusion and cultural dissonance. In 1989, Grace was placed by the State in a 'foster' home that was never assessed or registered for foster or respite. The placement wasn't an oversight; it was a bureaucratic gamble with a disabled child's life. For decades, the State looked away. Reports of abuse circulated for years. The first real public conversation about vulnerability and disability emerged much later, amid outrage sparked by the Ryan Report (2009) and the Áras Attracta scandal (2014). These moments should have created a lasting national transformation, but outrage without structural change is merely a performance of eloquent rhetoric claiming shock and disgust. There is an inertia surrounding the abuse and mistreatment of disabled children and adults in this country. The Farrelly Commission and the State's decision not to proceed with the second phase has left 47 children unaccounted for. Ireland has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). However, it has still not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), which would allow for independent monitoring of settings where people are deprived of liberty. Ireland's discourse surrounding disabled lives is reductionist, patronising, and insulting in its reporting of Grace; this insulates systemic actors from critique. News coverage of her situation often fails to centre her as a person with rights. Cultural ableism thrives when language strips disabled people of our complexity, autonomy, and dignity. Philosopher Miranda Fricker describes this phenomenon as epistemic injustice — when someone is denied credibility or recognition as a knower of their own life. Grace, through her legal team, submitted extensive materials to the Farrelly Commission, but none were included. The result was a 2000-page report about her, from which her mediated voice was excluded. The Farrelly Commission, established in 2017, arrived late and left early. Phase two — which was intended to explore the experiences of 47 additional children placed in the same abusive home — was abandoned. Officially, this was deemed 'too complex.' The omission of the second phase is not merely a policy gap but an ethical failure. It denied others like Grace - such as Frances O'Keeffe, featured in these pages yesterday - the opportunity to name their harm and be heard. Here, we encounter profound cultural dissonance: policies, practices, and procedures treat disabled lives, voices, and experiences as inconvenient. The disability lens is rarely included as a perspective in public inquiry and never as the central framework. We are not considered worthy of an easy-to-read format or an executive summary. Grace's status as a ward of court meant she had representation and a right to speak; yet, the inquiry into her treatment refused to include her submissions. Throughout the Farrelly Report, there is no trace of her as a legal subject, no evidence of her, and no formal communication with her by the Commission. Grace, through her legal team, submitted extensive materials to the Farrelly Commission, but none were included. The result was a 400-page report about her, from which her mediated voice was excluded. File picture: iStock Grace's narrative is gendered. Most abuse cases in institutional care, such as Áras Attracta, involve disabled women. Misogyny, like ableism, is embedded in the perception of harm as minimal. Disabled women often experience multiple forms of erasure: we are deemed too dependent to consent, too marginal to protect, and too complex to be believed. This erasure is linguistic as much as legal. Reports often use the passive voice — 'mistakes were made,' 'oversight failed.' When the language of bureaucracy overtakes the moral clarity required to name harm, disabled women like Grace become collateral damage in the pursuit of institutional self-preservation. The facts of the case are not ambiguous. Grace was placed in an un-inspected foster home. She remained there for 20 years despite a documented history of abuse concerns. The State had multiple opportunities to intervene — and chose not to. In 2017, the Farrelly Commission was formed. In 2024, it issued its report — over 2000 pages, €13m spent — and Grace's voice was still absent. Grace is not a singular failure but a symbol of systemic neglect. Her story is one chapter in a broader narrative that Ireland has yet to confront: the persistent, patterned erasure of disabled people from our histories, protections, and safety. If justice is to mean anything, it must begin with truth. That means revisiting the Farrelly Report—not with neutrality but with moral clarity. It means reinstating phase two. It means recognising Grace not as a victim of unfortunate oversight but as a citizen whose rights were repeatedly violated. Like so many others, Grace's voice will remain silent in the public record until we rewrite it—not posthumously, but now, while we still have time to act. Dr Rosaleen McDonagh is a playwright from The Traveller community.
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
'We don't think that's fair': People with disabilities forced to pay for postal vote option
Requiring people with disabilities to pay for doctor certs to get a postal vote is an 'unjustifiable barrier' to electoral participation, the Electoral Commission has said. The Commission has called on the Government to remove the need for people with disabilities to pay for their certification, with chief executive Art O'Leary saying it should be done in advance of the upcoming Presidential elections. Mr O'Leary said he wrote to housing minister James Browne about the matter, saying it should be dealt with urgently. 'There is a single cohort of people in this country who have to pay to vote. They have to get a certain certificate from a doctor to say that they are unable to attend a polling station and they have to pay for that certificate,' Mr O'Leary said. 'We don't think that's fair.' In the letter, Mr O'Leary says data collected by the Electoral Commission after the local and European elections in June 2024 showed 23% of voters with a disability opted against casting a ballot due to their disability. 'An Coimisiún considers that the current procedures around medical certification imposes an additional cost for many applicants and that this amounts to an unjustifiable barrier to participation. 'Registration for postal voting where medical certification is required should not impose any financial cost on an applicant.' Mr O'Leary urged the housing minister to waive the charge 'without delay' to avoid it becoming a barrier to people with disabilities seeking to register for a postal vote ahead of the presidential election. Under current requirements, an individual with a disability seeking a postal vote is required to get a GP's sign-off on the request – which is not covered by medical card, unlike other services for people with disabilities. Emer Begley, director of advocacy for the Disability Federation of Ireland, said the associated costs with getting a postal vote is 'not equitable' for people with disabilities. 'There should not be a barrier to exercising your right as a citizen to vote and because you have a disability, you are financially affected by this,' Ms Begley said. Ms Begley also flagged concerns about the time frame people have to apply for their postal vote, with applications for a vote closing two days after the Dáil is dissolved for a general election. In particular, Ms Begley said that the Government was contravening the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by not removing the charge. A spokesperson for the Department of Housing confirmed that the correspondence from the Electoral Commission was 'being considered'. Voting in Ireland The Electoral Commission is due to deliver its report on the 2024 general election later this month, which is set to outline issues with accessibility of polling stations. Mr O'Leary said, at present, Ireland does 'not make it easy for people to vote'. 'In this country, you have to turn up at a particular place, on a particular day and in between particular hours and if you can't do that, then you can't vote,' he said. He said work is ongoing at present around the issue of voting, with research underway within the Electoral Commission to consider expansion of postal voting or even early voting. 'I think it's inevitable that when we're looking at the issue of postal voting, that we will look at alternatives as well,' Mr O'Leary said. Read More
